Published by former Mayor George Gardner April 1 2015
The Report is an independent publication serving our community
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12:30 promenade, 3 pm parade
After traditional Easter sunrise and church services, St. Augustine's traditional Promenade and Parade fill the afternoon.
Sign up at 12:30 in the Plaza de la Constitución to vie for prizes for Prettiest Hat, Most Creative Hat, Best Dressed Couple, Best Dressed Woman, Best Dressed Man, Best Dressed Boy, Best Dressed Girl, Best Dressed Pet, Largest Family, Family from Farthest Away, and Guess the Number of Rubber Ducks.
After the Promenade you'll be steps away from the Easter Parade route, stepping off for the 57th year and celebrating 450 years of continuous occupation as the nation's oldest European settlement.
Along with traditional community groups, agencies and bands, for the first time in many years Kip Dingler of Bolingbroke GA will bring in four floats, courtesy of Jalaram Hotels. They'll carry former members of St. Augustine's royal family, cast members of the Cross and Sword state play being revived from its 400th anniversary presentation, the Men of Menendez reenacting the settlement's earliest military, and Hilton Hotel's tribute to Tapestry: The Cultural Threads of First America exhibition at the visitor center through October 4.
Wrap up Easter Sunday with the Easter Festival Committee reception ana parade awards ceremony at 6:30 pm at the G&G Building on Old Moultrie Road behind the Ponce Mall.
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opens Saturday
Tapestry: The Cultural Threads of First America is a signature St. Augustine 450th Commemoration exhibition that showcases authentic objects, original documents, powerful photographs and interactive elements that share the story of how three intertwining cultures - Hispanics, Africans and Native Americans - came together to form the foundation of the American culture and create the blended society of today's St. Augustine.
Beyond exploring St. Augustine's historical roots, Tapestry showcases the people who have shaped the city's cultural landscape over four and a half centuries. The histories and contemporary cultural expressions of the Menorcans, Greeks, British and others who are part of St. Augustine's rich cultural fabric are woven into the exhibition.
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The City Hall managed 450th Commemoration is estimated to have cost $3,649,525 at year's end, if budgeted figures for this final year hold up.
Facts and figures were released last week after Mayor Nancy Shaver questioned procedures in some of the contracts she reviewed.
The breakdown can be found here. It includes
* Comparison of revenues and expenses
* Revenue and expenses since 2008
* Accomplishments of the 450th Commemoration
* Key contracts in the 450th Commemoration
It doesn't include other city staff time such as Comptroller Mark Litzinger developing a park and shuttle plan for the Mumford Concert in 2013 or Police Chief Loran Lueders, who told commissioners last week he's spending about 60% of his time since taking over planning for a 450th weekend in September.
City Manager John Regan warned city commissioners when directed to assign city staff to manage the commemoration after a failed private foundation attempt in 2010 that commemorations are not a core function of city management.
The spreadsheet for eight years of 450th management show total general contributions of $32,367, less than one percent of the total budget. Income from various events brings total income to $1,141,299.
Hot button issues during the commemoration period include the Mumford and Sons Gentlemen of the Road Tour which shows $524,742 in both income and expense, and the Picasso exhibit, with $223,557 income and $378,957 expense. Salaries for the city hall 450 staff, which varied from three to five, was $1,192,947 and, together with office expenses of $681,482, accounted for more than half the total 450th budget.
Find the financial summary here.
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 "Almost every parlor in St. Augustine had a John Rogers sculpture during the turn of the century", says Lightner Museum Curator Barry Myers.
Today Lightner Museum has its own collection of the popular sculptures representing 19th century life including scenes from domestic life, literature and the civil war.
Myers monthly tours the first Wednesday of each month at 10 am offer guests an intimate encounter with a selection from the Lightner collection.
Tours are included in the price of admission and will begin in the front lobby of the Museum. Admission is free for St. Johns County residents with valid identification.
Image: The Charity Patient
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Hotel PUDs return to plan board
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Three wannabe hotels go before the city's Planning and Zoning Board (PZB) Tuesday, each seeking the much debated Planned Unit Development (PUD) zoning. The meeting begins at 2 pm in the Alcazar Room at City Hall.
Former Dow property - sought is "a complex of inns with ancillary resort uses." The proposal has drawn strong opposition from its Historic Preservation One (HP1) District neighbors, concerned with commercial intrusion into the predominantly residential neighborhood south of the plaza.
Ponce Hotel - Hotelier Kanti Patel has modified his hotel plan for the former Bozard Ford site on US 1 north from 55 to 40 feet, hoping a strong case can be made by the PZB - which earlier recommended the 55 foot plan - to go back to the City Commission.
Hyatt Place - Hotelier Fred Ashdji will present his modified plan from 55 to 40 feet as well, to replace his Quality Inn on US 1 north.
Both hoteliers have argued that today's more affluent travelers are looking for upscale hotels, and those franchises want 12-foot high lobby areas among other amenities.
The City Commission has final say on PUDs, and commissioners rejected the 55-foot US 1 hotel plans in January despite PZB recommendations for approval.
Local Heroes review
The plan board will also review compliance by Local Heroes, a bar on north St. George Street, for continuation of a use by exception as a bar after noise and other complaints dating back to 2011 prompted probation.
The property is dominated by a large courtyard and entertainment platform. PZB can decide between allowing, revoking, or modifying the use.
Town hall recap
PZB members will review town hall sessions March 11 and 26 on Planned Unit Development zoning and a proposed Special Event Venue ordinance.
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Restoring history - the Alcazar spires
161 days to St. Augustine's 450th anniversary
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From Walking St. Augustine, Elsbeth "Buff" Gordon
As early as the 1800s, residents raised concerns about the Ancient City's quaint old structures crumbling.
With passing decades, colonial-period houses continued to disappear or were exploited to attract tourists: one owner of the colonial Gaspar Papy House outrageously claimed that it was built by the conquistador Don Toledo for his Indian bride in 1516 - a half century before St. Augustine was founded.
As a savvy visitor of the twenty-first century, you will find that St. Augustine today is a working city where residents are passionate about times past and present and about historical truths.
The Alcazar Spires
The Hotel Alcazar was designed in the 1880s with numerous tall brick chimneys surmounted by decorative terra-cotta spires, four at each corner and one larger and more decorative spire in the center.
Silhouetted against the sky, the spires were unique sculptured objects.Over the years, moisture penetrated the unglazed terra-cotta and rusted the iron armatures, causing them to expand and crack the terra-cotta. Pieces of the spires fell to the sidewalk. Several spires were hit by lightning and demolished.
Because they endangered public safety, the spires were removed, but one complete spire of each design was carefully stored to serve as a template for future restoration.
In 1978 the Florida architect Herschel Shepard restored the spires. Duplicating them would have required making copies in terra-cotta approximately 15 percent larger than the surviving spires, for the clay shrinks when it is fired. The cost far exceeded the budget.
Tommy White, an expert craftsman from Jacksonville, experimented with fire clay, architectural concrete, and artificial coloring. This mixture did not shrink as it hardened, which made it possible to manufacture accurate copies cast in latex moulds made from the surviving spires.
The iron armatures were replaced with stainless steel, extended as lightning rods, and grounded.
Today the spires continue to enhance the Alcazar and St. Augustine's skyline.
Photo: Lightner Museum Collection
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The St. Augustine Report is published weekly, with additional Reports previewing City Commission meetings as well as Special Reports. The Report is written and distributed by George Gardner, St. Augustine Mayor (2002-2006) and a former newspaper reporter and editor. Contact the Report at gardner@aug.com or gardnerstaug@yahoo.com
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